Morning Coffee (7/31/13)

Today is my birthday and I would like someone to make me this. Or this. Wow.

Alert: Barney Frank is now on Twitter.

Would you like to see the playlist David Cameron made for the other G8 leaders? Sure you would.

10 American Girl Doll Catalogs from Your Past. OMG. I vividly remember these all through 1998, which is when I went to college and the catalogs still went to my parents' house. And even then, I remember some of them.

Speaking of American Girl, they're now doing picture books!

The Never-Ending Story: Why They're Not Getting Out From Under That Dome

Candidate Vastly Less Interesting After Correction

Queen Maureen Johnson has a new site!

Morning Coffee (7/30/13)

Sad news: The Old Reader is going away. I'm currently trying the Digg reader in beta. InoReader might also be worth a look. Anything else anyone has found?

Breaking news from the Wars of the Roses: Coffin at King Richard III Site Holds...Another Coffin

Anyone who interacts or hopes to interact with celebrities should read what Wil Wheaton wrote about Comic-Con.

This is a really, really good point: The Broken Cultural Script For Initiating Romance

I haven't found time to read this Huma Abedin profile yet, but I keep hearing it's very good.

22 Questions “Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory” Left Unanswered

How That Nineteenth-Century Handwriting Got So Pretty

With Building’s Sale, Piano Row Will Lose Another Key

Morning Coffee (7/29/13)

Wow: How to Trick Bloggers Into Reading Your Book

Mike Tyson and the Questions Not Asked

Paula Deen’s Cook Tells of Slights, Steeped in History

Inside Look at How Netflix Launches an Original Series

39 Places You Want to Sleep Right Now

Here's an interesting map of mysteries by state.

Did I already show you these literary desserts? Because they're great.

John Le Carre (yes) thinks spies have too much influence.

Morning Coffee (7/26/13)

Good news from BBC America: Law and Order: UK returns on August 7th and Ripper Street on December 1st.

My boss Maureen Johnson did an interview with the AV Club, and I can confirm that yes, this is what she's like.

Virginia Johnson has died.

Can You Name These Cities by Their Starbucks Locations?

World's biggest dinosaur park!

HAHAHA. Here is Bill Clinton singing "Blurred Lines." (Not really. But it's hilarious.

After San Diego Comic-Con, Continuing The Conversation About Women’s Place In Geekdom

Live in a stately home – just don't get too settled in

Morning Coffee (7/25/13)

Jane Austen is on the new ten pound note!

White House photographer Pete Souza has joined Instagram.

Though beware: Instagram is even more depressing than Facebook.

You should be reading Sarah Rees Brennan's Tumblr in general, because of posts like this and this.

Incredible Images Capture WWII New York

Is this the best food in America?

Moose on the loose stories are always fun.

Best Places to Kayak in New Hampshire

Morning Coffee (7/24/13)

I really like a lot of this supposed casting for the Into the Woods movie, but Johnny Depp as the wolf? Really? Sigh.

Great read: Pretentiousness Bingo

Fascinating: A Day Inside Comic-Con's Hall H

Various people give advice to the new Prince of Cambridge.

J.K. Rowling on her Galbraith alter ego

Royal baby pizza!

And cake!

And my favorite non-baby-obsessed Brit weighs in on why all the "this baby is everything wrong with the world" nonsense annoys him anyway.

Morning Coffee (7/23/13)

The RSS reader I use is having technical difficulties, so links may be light for the next few days.

As I'm sure you heard, the Prince of Cambridge was born yesterday, and the Guardian is liveblogging again, thank goodness.

Here's the Veronica Mars movie trailer.

And a really awesome Arrow sizzle reel from Comic-Con.

New Civil Wars song!

Superman and Batman are teaming up.

The 45 Most Gorgeous, Famous Gems of All Time

Morning Coffee (7/22/13)

The Duchess of Cambridge is in labor. The Guardian is, of course, live-blogging, because their live blogs are amazing.

Awesome: Truro Cathedral opens Christmas shop during heatwave

The Incredible Disappearing Evangelist

18 Important Life Lessons to Learn from Knitting

What the Posters in Your First Apartment Say About You Now

These last three are about the Boston bombing, in case you want to avoid them.

Regardless of the cover controversy, the actual Rolling Stone article is worth a read.

The Real Face of Terror: Behind the Scenes Photos of the Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Manhunt

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev In Rolling Stone, The Fake Pictures Of Trayvon Martin, And Crime, Terror, And Race

Morning Coffee (7/19/13)

Happy Friday!

Todd VanDerWerff's dispatches from Comic-Con are worth a read. Here's the first.

The Onion is delightful: Fox Books Files for Bankruptcy

What will happen if the royal baby is a changeling?

People obsessing over the Voynich Manuscript - always a good read.

Ha: The new image of Marianne for the French postage stamp was secretly inspired by the founder of Femen. People are displeased.

John Green picks some summer reads.

Interesting: What would be the implications for the British Museum if Scotland voted for independence?

Here's the truth behind all those sensational "follow the pope on Twitter and get out of hell" headlines.

Morning Coffee (7/18/13)

TV fans: Emmy nominations should be coming within the hour, so I'll probably update this post to link to them. Check back if you care!

I have a LOT of issues with this list of the supposed 22 All-Time Hottest Hunks of PBS. Namely: No one from Foyle's War, no Jonny Lee Miller, no Rupert Penry-Jones. WHAT? (I do have to give them points for correctly putting Laurence Fox in first place. I have a lot of Hathaway feelings.)

More vampire graves!

Rhythmic gymnastics scandal!

Nifty: Andretti Autosport Joins Eco-Friendly Formula E Championship

How aerial photographs tracked down Hitler's flying bombs

I really need to read Barbara Pym.

This test for British five-year-olds is insane.

The Victorian Commons blog has been around for a year now, and you should really check it out if you're into that kind of thing.

Morning Coffee (7/17/13)

New dinosaur!

Suits came back last night, and agree with pretty much everything in Carrie Raisler's review.

Good news: Borgen season three is coming on October 4th.

Almost Human teaser!

I know this salad article is ridiculous, but I would love to have a place to get salads like that around here.

Interesting: Dahlia Lithwick on that Zimmerman juror.

English Gavels Resound in a Trove Headed to Yale

Related-ish: Magna Carta copies to be united to mark 800th anniversary

Morning Coffee (7/16/13)

Small victories: That Zimmerman juror is not writing a book after all.

This amazing kitten rescue may make you cry. But in a good way.

Waiting for royal baby news? Pass the time with an adorable slideshow of royal baby pictures.

Stork Terrorizes German Village

Interesting NPR piece about the Civil Wars - I'm really excited for the new album.

A Simon & Schuster suite at the Algonquin?!?!

Fascinating: When the Ruins Were New

“We have notified NCIS and we’re looking into whether or not he’s impersonating a naval officer – and that’s a serious offense.”

Morning Coffee (7/15/13)

Oh hi! Anyone still here? Sorry for the longer-than-planned absence, but I think I'm actually ready to start posting regularly again. Apologies: For the first few days some of these links may be really old, because I bookmarked stuff even when I wasn't posting.

No no no, and also just . . . no.

This song was in the pilot of The Bridge and I just love it.

NBC news lost New Hampshire. Then they found it.

The Top Ten Writers Whose Success You’ll Resent This Year

15 Drop-Dead Gorgeous Cemeteries From Around The World

Nifty: Literal place names

Libba Bray on writing despair.

India sent the last telegram.